"Hiruzen Sarutobi, hurry and summon him back," Orochimaru urged slightly impatiently.
"..." After a moment's thought, Orochimaru shook his head and refused. "If Minato has truly been captured by Konoha, it would be far too easy for them to place tracking measures on him."
"When I try to summon him here, Konoha ninjas might trace him right back to this location."
"Therefore, it's better to let him escape on his own and shake off Konoha's pursuit."
To avoid being tracked, Orochimaru decisively chose to relocate, abandoning this base.
Of course, before leaving, he made sure to bring along a Flying Thunder God Kunai, just in case Minato needed help tracking him down again.
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"Go inform the others. We'll leave here as soon as possible," Orochimaru ordered, calling over a subordinate.
...
"Lady Tsunade, I'm just a puppet. Aren't you one too?"
Inside the sealed interrogation room, Minato Namikaze showed no fear.
Tsunade smiled. Minato was both Jiraiya's disciple and a holder of the Gamabunta Clan's summoning pact—he probably shared Jiraiya's stubbornness.
She stopped arguing with him and signaled to the waiting ninja outside to call Izumi Uchiha inside.
"Izumi, you'll be responsible for watching over him."
"..." Izumi hesitated slightly, opening her mouth as if to say something but then holding back.
Tsunade gently patted her head. "Don't worry. If there's any movement from Kakashi, I'll make sure to send someone to tell you."
"Alright." Izumi reluctantly agreed.
Minato quietly sighed.
As she left the Interrogation Unit, someone told her Kakashi had been waiting at the Hokage Building for quite a while.
With no choice, Tsunade changed course to meet him.
Kakashi looked somewhat dispirited. Rin Nohara's body had already been temporarily preserved using medical equipment, awaiting burial after things settled down and Konoha's cemetery got renovated.
He asked concisely, "Lady Tsunade, what exactly is Minato-sensei's purpose?"
Tsunade explained while briefly summarizing how [Impure World Reincarnation] worked. "Orochimaru wants to use [Impure World Reincarnation] to summon her."
"[Impure World Reincarnation]?" Kakashi was stunned, then confused. "Rin was just an unknown ninja. Why would she be targeted?"
Shaking her head, Tsunade indicated she also couldn't understand Orochimaru's intentions.
Sighing, Kakashi returned home and entered a specific room, staring directly at the person lying in the transparent rectangular ice chest.
Rin Nohara was temporarily kept here.
People say the same ghost can be scary to one person and deeply missed by another.
This applied to Kakashi.
Though staying with a dead person, he felt neither fear nor anxiety.
"Rin..."
As memories surfaced, Kakashi's thoughts drifted.
If it really was [Impure World Reincarnation], would Orochimaru summon others too?
Like his father, for example.
Thinking about this, Kakashi felt a knot of worry tighten in his chest.
"Teacher Minato, why are you associating with that rogue ninja, Orochimaru?"
...
The wind rustled as Sasori of the Red Sands slowly traveled along a seldom-used path atop his Hiruko puppet.
Since Orochimaru left the Akatsuki Organization, Pain had never assigned a suitable partner to him. Sasori had been working alone ever since.
"Did you figure it out?"
A cold voice cut through the air as Obito Uchiha, wearing a white mask, suddenly emerged atop a tree within Sasori's line of sight.
After reclaiming his eyes, Obito changed masks. His current one was a Tomoe-patterned white mask.
It covered his face except for his eyes and featured another hole in the forehead area.
This was preparation for recovering the Rinnegan later.
In fact, Obito already had a vague suspicion.
There were only several women who could draw attention from both Kakashi and Minato Namikaze simultaneously.
Right now, he simply wanted confirmation from Sasori.
"I figured it out," Sasori replied in his calm, hoarse voice.
"Yesterday at Konoha's Cemetery, Minato Namikaze attempted to steal the corpse of a woman named Rin Nohara but was intercepted by Kakashi and several Konoha ninja."
Obito's face remained expressionless beneath his mask. Kamui activated, and he vanished from Sasori's sight.
After Obito left, Sasori couldn't help but chuckle.
"What a shame I can't witness it personally..."
...
Within Konoha Village.
A man dressed in a black robe adorned with auspicious cloud patterns (symbolizing good fortune) stood before Konoha Cemetery.
The battlefield lay in ruins, bearing clear signs of yesterday's fierce battle.
Obito's gaze swept across those tombstones.
On the memorial stone originally belonging to him, his name had already been erased.
As for Rin's grave, its soil looked looser compared to others, showing obvious signs of having recently been unearthed.
Standing still for a long moment, Obito finally stepped forward and lifted the coffin lid.
Inside, there was nothing.
His killing intent surged uncontrollably, and the wind roared through his cloak.
Gritting his teeth, Obito whispered furiously, "Kakashi, you useless piece of trash."
Back then, he hadn't taken Rin's body away for two reasons.
Firstly, he knew Rin loved Konoha and was willing to sacrifice herself for it, even desiring to be buried here after death.
Secondly, because he needed to play the role of Madara Uchiha, he couldn't show any flaws or allow anyone to suspect his true identity as Obito Uchiha.
But now, he no longer had to pretend to be Madara Uchiha; he could finally become himself again.
He could return to being Obito Uchiha.
...
An unfamiliar figure suddenly appeared within the grounds of the Hatake clan.
A sudden sense of unease came over Kakashi, and he turned his gaze outward.
Not just him, other ninja stationed in hiding also failed to detect how Obito had arrived.
All at once, they tensed up. One of them broke away to go report.
Kakashi walked out, his expression showing both confusion and hesitation. "Are you really..."
Obito's tone was sharp. "Where's Rin?"
"She..."
At the same time, someone else rushed to Izumi to deliver the urgent report.
"There's a masked stranger at Kakashi's place."
Izumi's eyes widened with shock. "It must be Obito Uchiha."
"Obito? But he's been dead for ages..." Minato felt confused. Why would she bring him up again?
Giving him a sidelong glance, Izumi said, "Obito Uchiha has been alive and well all along—he just kept his identity hidden. He masters Spatial Ninjutsu, and even showed up during the Nine-Tails Incident."
Minato's expression slightly changed as he instantly recalled the mysterious figure from back then. He turned to Izumi urgently, "Help me break this seal."
He wanted to find Obito and confirm whether it was truly him who intentionally disrupted Kushina's childbirth years ago and released the Nine-Tails.
Why would that kind-hearted boy he remembered do something like this?
Izumi ignored him, her excitement evident as she ran out directly.
With no other options, Minato turned to Inoichi Yamanaka, still in the interrogation room. "Inoichi, can you help me release the chakra seal I have?"
Uh…"
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